2046 is today...
This might belong in a different thread, but if anyone has any good recommendations, I'd love to hear about some books that deal specifically with Hong Kong's transfer back to China. I understand Britain had a finite lease on Hong Kong, but even so you would think Britain, previously the world's foremost colonial power, would understand A. the economic benefit of owning an Asian economic hub, and B. the fact that colonization, though an exploitative and destructive process, irrevocably changes the culture of a colony in ways that make a return to pre-colonial life impossible (or in this case, a return to a different kind of leadership and politics, from democracy to authoritarian). Unless Britain was strapped for cash or Britain foresaw China's rapid growth and wanted good diplomatic terms on which to participate in that growth, the decision makes no sense to me.
Sorry for the political digression.